Eastern Africa contains an extensive network of marine protected areas (MPAs),
stretching from the Red Sea states of Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti, along the Indian
Ocean coastline of Somaliland, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, and out to
the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles, Comoros, Réunion, Mauritius and Madagascar.
Most of these MPAs have been gazetted because they contain species or habitats of
particular interest, importance or conservation concern that are under threat in some
way.
The main threats to Eastern Africa’s MPAs arise from human economic activities. These
include over-fishing and destructive fishing techniques (such as poison fishing, dynamite
fishing and the use of small-mesh nets), the over-harvesting of other marine products
(such as mangroves, shells, seabirds, turtles, marine invertebrates and mammals) and —
particularly along the main coastal strip — the conversion and pollution of natural
habitats resulting from land reclamation, shipping, ports, urban centres,
tourist developments and industries such as prawn farming, salt production, oil and gas
extraction. More recently, MPAs have also been affected by coral mortality due to the
effects of El Niño and global warming.